BYD Automobile
BYD Automobile Co Ltd (simplified Chinese: 比亚迪汽车; Pinyin: Bǐyàdí Qìchē) is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The firm was established in 2003 and is a part of BYD Co Ltd, an innovative rechargeable battery maker.For year established and parent company information, see Company Profile BYD Auto Official Site *For parent company innovativeness, see As of 2010 production capacity is estimated at 700,000 units/year, and that year's sales reached 519,800 making the company the sixth largest Chinese car-maker by units sold.For 2010 production capacity estimate, see Beijing Halts Construction of BYD Auto Plant wsj.com, OCTOBER 14, 2010 *For 2010 sales figures, see China Car Market 101: Who Makes All Those 18 Million Cars? thetruthaboutcars.com, January 19, 2011 2010 also saw continued popularity for its F3 model, which became the most-purchased car in China.Top 10 Best-Selling Sedans and SUVs in 2010 chinaautoweb.com, January 14, 2011 History BYD Co Ltd created the wholly owned subsidiary BYD Auto a year after its 2002 acquisition of the Tsinchuan Automobile Company.Company Profile BYD Auto Official Site While the Chinese State is credited with development of an indigenous auto industry,How the Chinese government promoted a global automobile industry. Wan-Wen Chu. Industrial and Corporate Change First published online: April 5, 2011. BYD Auto may have been created in the absence of a State policy explicitly supporting independently owned automobile manufacturers.The Emergence of the Independent Chinese Auto Industry Crystal Chang (Berkeley) In 2008 BYD Auto began selling the world's first mass-produced, full hybrid vehicle, the BYD F3DM. China subsidizes oil, and Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric vehicles because Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology.For China's oil subsidy, see China's fuel subsidy costs the world reuters.com, Wed Jun 4, 2008 8:08am EDT *For Chinese automakers seeing EV opportunities, see Big bet on better battery-run cars chinadaily.com.cn, 2011-01-03 In late December 2008 Warren Buffet spent $230 million buying up a 10% stake in BYD Auto's parent, BYD Company. In 2009 the company sold 448,400 cars in China, and two-thirds of sales were its BYD F3 model.For 2009 sales figures, see *For BYD F3 sales figures, see That same year saw BYD exports its cars to Africa, South America and the Middle East. A future joint venture with Daimler AG, Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Company will focus on EV development and upmarket, BYD-branded sedans. As of March 2011 the new company has received a business license from the Chinese State and BYD, contractual agreement from its German partner.Joint Venture between BYD and Daimler Receives Business License BYD Auto Official Site, March 1, 2011 Recent events Two full hybrid models were on display at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show.BYD is at Geneva Auto Show with two cars chinacartimes.com, March 2, 2011 Sales outside China While the majority of sales are domestic, some models are exported to other developing countries. BYD cars are sold in Bahrain by Fakhro Motors,BYD models to appear in Bahrain globaltimes.cn, December 08 2010 as of 2010 a Russian company, TagAZ, will assemble BYD models in Russia,BYD ties up to assemble cars in Russia globaltimes.cn, December 08 2010 and in the Caribbean, BYDs are distributed in the Dominican Republic by Peravia Motors. A considerable number of BYDs are brought in specifically to serve as taxis in Santo Domingo.Dominican capital turns Chinese yellow, with taxis dominicantoday.com, 5 February 2010 The company has also expressed a desire to enter the European and Israeli markets, and hopes to sell vehicles in the United States, too.For Israeli and Europe sales, see Israel's Clal to import China's BYD electric cars reuters.com, Thu September 25, 2008 4:29am EDT *For US sales, see http://www.bydit.com/doce/news/2009521163533.shtml BYD Press Release, 2009-5-11 BYD's US headquarters is set to be located in Los Angeles and it plans to start selling an electric car, the e6, there in 2012.BYD sees mass U.S. entry in first quarter of 2012 with e6 reuters.com, Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:31am EST Models Past models * BYD Flyer (2003–2008) Current models * BYD F0 * BYD F3 ** F3-R ** BYD F3DM (plug-in hybrid compact sedan) (2008–present) * F6 * S8 * G3 Future models * M6 * L3 * i6 * S6BYD S6 to launch at Shanghai Auto Show chinacartimes.com, March 29, 2011 at 10:00 am * BYD e6 (An all-electric MPV) (on trial since 2010) * BYD F6DM (plug-in hybrid mid-size sedan) Copying Claims BYD, like many other private Chinese car manufacturers, has been accused of copying designs of vehicles produced by other companies. One staff member at Honda claimed that the BYD F3 was "a known copy" of the Toyota Corolla (with Honda Fit design cues). Another model too, the BYD F1, has been described as "a clear copy" this time of the Toyota Aygo. Domestic dealerships have been known to take advantage of this and replace the badging of BYD vehicles with those of other car manufacturers, including Toyota. Micheal Austin, vice president of BYD America, has acknowledged the issue saying that the practices of some franchised dealers have made BYD "uncomfortable." Production bases and facilities Production bases include two production bases in Xi'an, an R&D center and production base in Shenzhen and an R&D center in Shanghai.For production bases, see Beijing Halts Construction of BYD Auto Plant wsj.com, OCTOBER 14, 2010 *For R&D centers, see Company Profile BYD Auto Official Site In 2010 the Chinese State halted construction of a third Xi'an production base. *Beijing Halts Construction of BYD Auto Plant wsj.com, OCTOBER 14, 2010 *BYD fined, buildings confiscated globaltimes.cn, October 14 2010 *MLR supervises BYD's illegal Xi'an project globaltimes.cn, December 08 2010 *BYD backs away from 'dream' globaltimes.cn, August 27 2010 Building was allowed to resume in Spring, 2011.BYD says to restart construction of China Xi'an plants reuters.com, Tue Apr 5, 2011 10:19pm EDT A production complex in Changsha, Hunan province, will soon become operational.Beijing Halts Construction of BYD Auto Plant wsj.com, OCTOBER 14, 2010 In the media * CNN segment TalkAsia interviewed chairman Wang Chuanfu on April 22, 2009. * BYD Auto was featured on the cover of Fortune magazine on April 13, 2009. * BYD Co Ltd, the parent company of BYD Auto, is mentioned in the 2008 book Globality, written by the Boston Consulting Group. See also * BYD Co Ltd * List of Chinese automakers References External links * BYD Auto's official site * BYD Auto's official site * Invest in Longgang, Shenzhen - BYD Auto Co., Ltd. * BYD Electric Cars blog Category:BYD Company Category:Car manufacturers of China Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of China Category:Companies founded in 2003 Category:BYD Category:Companies of China Category:Companies based in Guangdong